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A American legislative body looking into sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he submit to a deposition as part of its probe into Epstein’s wrongdoings.

In a letter made public on Thursday, a US representative, the top Democrat on the House investigative committee, asked that King Charles III’s sibling assist with its probe.

The official demand to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was relieved of his royal title and opted to surrender his property in Windsor.

Files and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name appears in documents and flight logs secured from Epstein’s estate and made public by the committee. He has also been accused by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The panel will investigate allegations of wrongdoing by Mountbatten Windsor, and will demand information on Epstein’s network, associates, and connections based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a press release.

It sought particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on specifics of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Substance of the Communication

“It has been publicly reported that your friendship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 conviction for trafficking underage girls for prostitution,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been alleged that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of abusing young girls. This close relationship with Mr Epstein, combined with the freshly uncovered 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our belief that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

A announcement regarding the letter said it was co-signed by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a response by 20 November.

Earlier Remarks and Collaboration

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to give evidence before the oversight committee. The people has the right to know who was harming women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the representative does not hold the ability to compel the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige statements from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to cooperate to US demands for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had contacted Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his previous pledge that he was “ready to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

“It’s reasonable for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided zero cooperation”.

Appeals for Accountability

The lawmaker said in a statement that “wealthy and well-connected men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, one-time Prince Andrew has the chance to come clean and secure accountability for the affected individuals. The committee will not stop advocating for accountability and openness for survivors of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another signatory, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing accounts to the committee from Epstein’s victims, as well as media coverage of disclosed papers, “it is vital that Andrew cooperates with the active inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can vindicate himself.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the survivors will receive much-delayed accountability. The monarchy’s actions stripping Andrew of his titles indicate there is further to this situation.”

The letter came on the same day the British king formally revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his royal title. Charles III formally made the change – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s public registry.